Nurse Nicki Morgan said: “We’ve had people say: ‘I’m 80 in a couple of weeks and I’ll have my 80th birthday, I’ll have my party, and then I’ll go’.

“And very strangely we do see that that happens.”

Another nurse, Angela Beeson, described how a married couple who were both dying asked for their beds to be placed next to each other.

She said: “They just lay side-by-side holding hands.

“And they were singing Slow Boat to China together, and they both died on that ward within 10 days of each other.”

Louise Massey described how one patient claimed to have seen the afterlife.

"To experience the joy on somebody’s face when they’re dying and their dog’s been in to see them is priceless," Ms Massey said. Picture: BBCSource:Supplied

She said: “A patient many years ago who was dying and they were semiconscious and they actually said they were happy to die because they’d had a glimpse of heaven and it was wonderful and they weren’t frightened to die.”

She added that a common dying request from patients is to see their pets one final time.

“To experience the joy on somebody’s face when they’re dying and their dog’s been in to see them is priceless,” Ms Massey said.

Ms Morgan added: “We’ve had a border collie and an Alsation cross up on the bed with a gentleman and that was his wish.

Other nurses described how they often want their favourite drink, or even just a cup of tea.

Dani Jervis said: “We do get people who would like their favourite tipple, a drink.”